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Women are still earning far less than men, drawing international scorn

Researchers from the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University recently revealed that people employed in highly stressful jobs were “third less likely to die than those with easier roles – but only if the worker is in control of their own workflow”.

They tracked workers in their sixties for seven years and found that those who had freedom and control over their high-stress role were 34% less likely to have died than those less stressed than them.

But without the freedom to make their own decisions, workers in high-stress roles “were the most likely to be unhealthy and die earlier”.

“These findings suggest that stressful jobs have clear negative consequences for employee health when paired with low freedom in decision-making, while stressful jobs can actually be beneficial to employee health if also paired with freedom in decision-making,” said lead study author Erik Gonzalez-Mulé.

Those without control of their workflow would lead to workers indulging in unhealthy behaviours such as smoking and overeating, they said.

They also found that cancer was the leading cause of death for highly-stressed workers followed by circulatory system problems and respiratory complications, reported The Telegraph.